Those of you who could not spare 60 hours to listen to the Westminster style debates following the budget speech, shame on you! You missed a great opportunity to enrich your knowledge about the fiscal and monetary policy of this country and the economy in general. You also missed a real chance to listen to very learned experts on the government side explaining the rationale behind the budgetary measures announced and the different policies to be enacted. You’d think we were in Westminster!

The honourable members we are so proud to have elected to the National Assembly spoke succinctly, explained clearly, defended their ideas with proof and conviction and sat back down, smugly smiling and satisfied with their own performance. There is nothing we can do in one editorial to educate you or fill you in on what you missed. We can, nonetheless, give you a selection of the highlights that took place over nine days of highly intellectual debates, while the opposition was most probably trying to resist the urge to slit their wrists. To take the full measure of these orations, we are reporting them verbatim and with no comment. Just bear in mind that these speeches were prepared and read with eyes glued to the paper.

“You missed a real chance to listen to very learned experts on the government side explaining the rationale behind the budgetary measures announced and the different policies to be enacted.” 

Former Minister of Housing and Lands Showkutally Soodhun: “It is our duty to help the country and I am the good example… I am at my 6^th mandate… this mandate is a very experienced one and I can tell you, I was asked to step down, I decided with my family to left the country. Finally I had to thank the prime minister, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth… He’s someone very sincere, believes in God, this is important. And believe in human beings and believe also in hardworking people… If today I’m here, I can tell you because of Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, the prime minister. He deserves all our support… In 2017, I was in Mecca and we again had problems with Betamax. The prime minister called me and told me, ‘Do what you can do’. We were going to a catastrophic situation. I went to Riyadh and met with the highness, Prince Salman, minister of petroleum, minister of finance. I said please help my country… Somebody called me and said, ‘forget about it. Don’t do anything. Take your revenge’. I said. Never! He (pointing to Jugnauth) never deserves it’… My granddaughter, my daughter, and we have a generation, and he is the only one for the future of this country is Pravind Kumar Jugnauth… The prime minister works seven days to seven days. He has always supported me. What I have done for this country, I am proud myself, as an MP. Not many people has been able to do it. And if I did it and there has been success, it’s due to his support…” (Sic, Sic, Sic)

“We can give you a selection of the highlights that took place over nine days of highly intellectual debates, while the opposition was most probably trying to resist the urge to slit their wrists.”

PPS Toolsyraj Benydin: “Hon. Prime Minister, you have proved through your budget that you yourself are a man of social dialogue and firm principles.”

MP Ravi Rutnah: “Wherever I go people tell me that Pravind is doing well, the government is doing well. Some people think that I don’t belong here in the National Assembly… I am ever so grateful to my leader, Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Collendavelloo when he offered me the opportunity to be a candidate. I am also grateful to Sir Anerood Jugnauth when my leader went to meetings and I said I would be a candidate in No.7 and SAJ happily said yes, he would be happy…” (Sic)

Minister of Tourism Anil Gayan: “I don’t go on Facebook but friends told me that there were death threats against me on Facebook. That’s when I went to the police and I asked the police to inquire fully about why this was happening and who was behind it… I have evidence in my hand where Hon Osman Mahomed, Dr Ramgoolam, are together with Azaree who is in jail. And Hon Uteem as well and Razack Peeroo as well...” (Sic)

PPS Sandhya Boygah: “Pravind Kumar Jugnauth a été à la hauteur de ce budget, et avec tous les respects de Sir Anerood Jugnauth, il était beaucoup mieux, beaucoup plus… What the prime minister and minister of finance has offered to the population. It clicks because my son, 17 years old, who was having his dinner, he just stopped when he heard Liverpool… Rambo is like wine… There was a time when cyclone was approaching Mauritius, people would say: don’t worry, cyclone won’t come because the prime minister is Sir Anerood Jugnauth. Even my father used to tell me this. Pas gagne tracas, cyclone pas pou vini; bolomme la…” (Sic, Sic, Sic)

Vice Prime Minister Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo: “When you have leaders like Hon. Sir Anerood Jugnauth and our present prime minister, Hon. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, as head of our country, things cannot go wrong. They are people whom you can trust. We, on this side of the House, know that with the Hon. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth as prime minister, we are on the right path. The population rest assured, knowing very well that the country is headed by a prime minister who is serious, hard-working and of values.” (Sic)

Minister of Sports Stephan Toussaint : “Je profite encore moi aussi de cette occasion pour saluer le travail de Sir Anerood Jugnauth dans ce case… Je termine ici, M. le président, en remerciant énormément l’honorable Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, premier ministre de ce pays. Je le remercie par rapport à tout ce qu’il fait pour la population. Je le remercie pour les ti-dimounn. Je le remercie pour les pauvres. Je le remercie pour ceux qui ont espoir maintenant. Je le redis – je le remercie parce qu’il a fait de ce piti cité un ministre de la République.” (Sic, Sic)

“The main thing here is for our ministers and MPs to do what they have been doing throughout their tenure. Thinking about themselves and securing their future through rubbing their leader the right way.”

MP Bashir Jahangeer: “We say tel père, tel fils. M. le président, dans les années 2000, le premier ministre d’alors, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, came with a project to set up a cyber-city in Ebène. What did the opposition said? Un éléphant blanc. What happened today? Get me a square metre empty there, you cannot get. You have about 25,000 people every day going to the Ebène city. That is a full success. This shows his vision, this is true vision. And now, we have another one coming up through Hon. Pravind Jugnauth. It is the Safe City… In six months’ time, under the leadership of the prime minister, Hon. Pravind Jugnauth, we are embarking on l’Alliance Lepep 2.0.” (Sic, Sic, Sic)

MP Kalyan Tarolah: “History had witnessed what Rt. Hon. Sir Anerood Jugnauth was capable of. Housewives have put aside the so-called the poukni to bring four à gaz in the kitchen, and today Hon. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth is encouraging the use of gas in the kitchen by bringing a significant reduction in the price of 12 kilogram of cooking gas… Let me remind the House that every time MSM is in power, our country had known significant progress. Be it under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Sir Anerood Jugnauth, during the period of 1993 to 1995 and today under the leadership of Hon. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Mauritius is experiencing a change to the tune of the global demand. As legally the dissolution of the National Assembly is due in a few months’ time, the whole nation will be asked to act their democratic right to choose their prime and its team to govern this country. I have no doubt the choice has already been made and Hon. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth will be the next prime minister as well. Mille fois Pravind!” (Sic, Sic, Sic)

In the middle of this wedding atmosphere, the voices of an opposition trying to underline some very dangerous measures announced in the budget were drowned. Who cares about the lone voices of the opposition screaming about the daylight heist of the Bank of Mauritius? Who cares that economists like Former Minister of Finance Rama Sithanen have clearly stated that our public debt has been increasing by Rs20 billion every year for the last five years, excluding debts for the Metro Express, Safe City or Côte d’Or as these are well hidden in Special Purpose Vehicles? Who understands why Economist Eric Ng is sounding the alarm about what he calls an ‘assault on the rupee’ the depreciation of which will likely swallow all the electoral bribes offered in the budget? Who even cares about the budget? Leave that to real democracies. The main thing here is for our ministers and MPs to do what they have been doing throughout their tenure. Thinking about themselves and securing their future through rubbing their leader the right way. For, outside parliament, what are they really worth?

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